While Beethoven composed most of Symphony No. 9 between 1823 and 1824, the seed had been planted over 30 years prior. In 1793, he expressed the desire to set Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” to music. All the ideas he wrote down, reworked and developed over time slowly came together in his head, like pieces of a puzzle.
The years that preceded the composition of Symphony No. 9 were particularly difficult for Beethoven, mainly because he had become completely deaf. He was also embroiled in a legal battle over the guardianship of his nephew, Karl. But Beethoven bounced back and managed to channel his negative energy from this trying period into great creativity. From 1820 until his death in 1827, he composed less frequently, but the works he produced were masterpieces.
As the Viennese reception for Beethoven’s previous symphonies was mixed, he planned to premiere the ninth in Berlin. Once his fans caught wind of this rumour, they started to panic! They got together and published a letter in the newspapers, pleading with the composer to premiere his work in the Austrian capital. Beethoven was touched by this show of affection and changed his plans.
Expectations were high on May 7, 1824, with an audience of 2,400. And Beethoven didn’t disappoint: the concert was a triumph. While he was on stage throughout the concert, his deafness kept him from conducting the orchestra himself. When the ninth was over, one of the soloists turned him to face the public so he could see with his eyes what his ears couldn’t hear: a standing ovation.
Over time, Symphony No. 9 has come to represent unity and universal connection. Widely used in film and politics, it has secured a prominent place in our collective imagination. In 1985, “Ode to Joy” became the official anthem of the European Union. In 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Leonard Bernstein conducted the piece in the German capital. In 2001, it was the first musical score to be included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
Beethoven’s nine symphonies—particularly the ninth—have had a profound influence on the history of classical music. They have become the benchmark for symphonic composition, the standard against which all subsequent composers must measure themselves. Beethoven’s symphonic body of work marked an elusive boundary that later composers hesitated to cross.